WVCBP in the News

July 8, 2015 by Ted Boettner
Utilities Seek to Change Gas and Electric Shutoff Policies

Charleston Gazette - What type of notification should electric and gas companies have to give to customers before they shut off their power and heat? ReadThat is the main question the state Public Service Commission will have to decide as part of an ongoing case, which advocates say could drastically affect the state's poor and…

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July 6, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
Contractors: Surveys Most Accurate Way to Set West Virginia Prevailing Wage

West Virginia Public News Service - West Virginia's prevailing wage should be determined using in-state surveys instead of federal estimates, according to some contractors. The wage law was changed this spring. ReadRepublican lawmakers say the state should now use Bureau of Labor Statistics figures to determine how much to pay construction workers on public projects.…

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July 4, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
WV Tax Incentives: Business Boon or Bust for County Coffers

Charleston Gazette - At least 13 companies in West Virginia pay reduced or possibly no property taxes because of a program in which the West Virginia Economic Development Authority purchases property and leases the land, buildings or equipment back to the businesses. ReadAccording to accounting records, the EDA owns more than $103 million in property…

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July 3, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
The Front Porch: Should We Keep the Prevailing Wage?

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Should the government require wages over a certain level for taxpayer-funded construction projects? ListenIn West Virginia, some Republicans want to repeal the prevailing wage law altogether - like Laurie Lin of our podcast, "The Front Porch"In her Charleston Daily Mail column, she writes that the prevailing wage benefits a small…

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July 1, 2015 by WVCBP
Crowd Turns Out for Racial Equality Event in Charleston

Charleston Gazette - About 150 people turned out to talk about steps to take to promote racial equality at an event on Charleston's East End Tuesday evening. ReadFarajii Muhammed, a community organizer from Baltimore, urged taking peaceful action, after he described violent protests he witnessed at home.Muhammed is the youth empowerment program director for the…

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June 21, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
Analyst: Gas Boom Kept W.Va. from Facing Kansas-like Shortfalls

Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - West Virginia was one natural gas boom away from facing the same kind of shortfall that had Kansas's state government struggling to balance its budget earlier this month. ReadThat's according to Sean O'Leary, a fiscal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.West Virginia's government has experienced a budget…

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June 19, 2015 by Sean O'Leary
Report: WV Receives Little Federal Aid for Education

The State Journal - At a time when policymakers in West Virginia are making critical choices for higher education funding, a new report shows many states already have done the same. ReadA map of federal and state relationships in higher education funding bring up three key points: levels of funding coming from the federal government…

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June 4, 2015 by WVCBP
Merkley, Colleagues Urge Crackdown on ‘Predatory’ Lenders

KTVZ.com, Enews Park Forest - As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers new rules to rein in predatory practices in payday and similar types of lending, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and 31 Senate colleagues expressed support Thursday for the agency's first steps and urged the strongest possible rules to combat the "cascade of devastating financial…

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